Thrust reverser with sliding pivot joints

ABSTRACT

A target type thrust reverser is provided for reversing the thrust of jet engines, particularly on aircraft. The thrust reverser preferably has a plurality of doors that occupy a stowed position about the nozzle of the jet engine until deployed. In the stowed position, the doors are out of the exhaust stream of the jet engine. The doors are mounted to pivot joints on the rear portions of the doors. To deploy the thrust reverser, actuators connected to the pivot joints cause the pivot joints to translate linearly aft, and link rods attached to the forward portions of the doors cause the doors to pivot about the sliding pivot joints. In this manner, the distance between the doors and the engine exhaust nozzle is minimized during deployment, which enables significant weight savings due to reduced loads and fewer parts. A novel lock is also provided for simultaneously locking the thrust reverser doors and the actuators.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application No.09/909,561, filed Jul. 20, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,845,945, the fulldisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to thrust reversers for jet engines,and more particularly to a target type thrust reverser in which thedoors are mounted to sliding pivot joints.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the field of jet engines, and particularly in the field of jetaircraft engines, it frequently becomes advantageous to reverse thethrust of the engine in order to supply a braking force to the structureto which the engine is attached. On jet aircraft, thrust reversers aretypically used to shorten the distance that the aircraft travels on therunway after landing and to enhance safety when braking the aircraft ona damp or icy runway. Various types of thrust reversers have beendeveloped for such purposes.

In general, thrust reversers fall into one of two categories: (1) fanonly reversers, which reverse only the fan bypass stream but not thecore engine exhaust, and (2) full jet reversers, which reverse most ofthe core engine exhaust as well as the fan bypass stream. Thrustreversers in the latter category are sometimes referred to as “target”type reversers because they involve thrust reverser doors that aredeployed into the engine exhaust stream aft of the exit plane to form atarget onto which substantially the entire engine exhaust streamimpinges.

An example of a fan only reverser is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,693,issued to Remlaoui on Mar. 30, 1993 (“Remlaoui”). The Remlaoui reversercomprises a plurality of blocker doors that are mounted on slidinghinges about the periphery of the engine nacelle and that are actuatedby extensible rods. In their stowed positions, the blocker doors form astreamlined part of the annular duct through which fan air passesoutside the engine core. As the extensible rods are actuated, theblocker doors are rotated into the duct to divert the fan airstream outof the nacelle in a forward direction. Because fan only reversers arecapable of reversing only the fan air and not the core engine exhaust,fan only reversers are not capable of providing as much reverse thrustas a full jet thrust reverser.

One of the most common types of target thrust reversers is a four-barlink system such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,836, issued toMutch on Feb. 1, 1977 (“Mutch”). In a four-bar link system, each one ofa pair of doors is mounted to the engine with four bars—two bars (oneforward and one aft) on each side of the door. Each bar has one endpinned to the engine structure and the other end pinned to the door. Thepin connections at the respective ends of the forward bars are on acommon axis that runs transverse to the engine axis, and likewise thepin connections at the respective ends of the aft bars are on a commonaxis that runs transverse to the engine axis. Because the forward barsare longer than the aft bars, the four bars cooperate to allow the doorto both rotate and translate as the bars are pivoted about the pointsthat are pinned to the engine structure. The doors are thus capable ofmovement between a stowed position, in which the doors lie adjacent theengine nozzle out of the exhaust stream, and a deployed position, inwhich the doors are disposed within the exhaust stream aft of the engineexit. Although a four-bar link system such as that disclosed in Mutchreverses substantially all of the engine exhaust and therefore providesconsiderably more reverse thrust than a fan only thrust reverser, afour-bar link system has the drawback of increased weight because thestructure must be quite heavy in order to carry the increased forces andmoments that the system generates. The forces are greater because thedoors divert a much greater volume of air, and the moments are greaterbecause the bars place the doors at a significant distance away from thepivot joints. Additionally, the four bars constitute extra moving partsthat add an extra level of complication and cost.

Thus, it would be a significant advancement in the art to provide a jetengine thrust reverser that has a large thrust reversal capacity,reduced weight, simple operation, improved reliability, and reducedcost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the aforementioned and other problems, a thrust reverser inaccordance with the present invention preferably comprises a pluralityof doors mounted to pivot joints near the aft portions of the doors.Link rods, which may be pivoting, folding, or extensible, are providednear the forward portions of the doors. An actuator is preferablyprovided between each door, and slider rods on each actuator areconnected to the pivot joint of the door on either side of the actuator.In the stowed position, the doors are located about the periphery of theengine exhaust nozzle out of the exhaust stream. To deploy the thrustreverser, the actuators cause the pivot joints to translate linearlyaft, and the forward link rods cause the doors to rotate about the pivotjoints. In the fully deployed position, the doors are located aft of theengine exhaust nozzle and substantially in the path of the exhauststream. In this manner, the doors are able to reverse the flow ofsubstantially the entire exhaust stream, including both core exhaust andbypass fan exhaust, which provides significantly improved reversethrust. Because the present thrust reverser eliminates the rear bars ofa conventional four-bar link system, the present thrust reverserprovides significant weight savings, simpler operation, and increasedreliability. Additionally, by keeping the rear pivot joints close to themid-line of the engine, the present thrust reverser minimizes thedistance between the doors and the engine during deployment, whichresults in reduced loads on the thrust reverser, which in turn allowsfurther weight savings. The reduced loads allows the actuators to beoriented such that the full, unobstructed faces of the actuator pistons(rather than the faces to which the piston rods are attached, which havereduced surface area) may be used to return the doors from the deployedposition to the stowed position, which improves safety and allowssmaller actuators with reduced weight. Additionally, a thrust reverserin accordance with the present invention preferably comprises a lockthat simultaneously locks the thrust reverser doors and the actuators.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved targetthrust reverser for jet engines that reverses substantially the entireexhaust stream, including both core exhaust and bypass fan exhaust.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedtarget thrust reverser with doors mounted to pivot joints that translatelinearly aft near the midline of the engine in order to minimize thedistance between the doors and the engine during deployment and therebyproduce reduced loads in the thrust reverser.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved targetthrust reverser with reduced weight due to fewer parts and reduced massof the remaining parts due to reduced operating loads.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved targetthrust reverser with simpler and more reliable operation and reducedcost.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the annexed sheets of drawings,which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a thrust reverser in accordance with thepresent invention shown in a fully deployed position.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the thrust reverser of FIG. 1 shownin a stowed position.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the thrust reverser of FIG. 1 shownin a partially deployed position.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the thrust reverser of FIG. 1 shownin a fully deployed position.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the actuator for the thrustreverser of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the actuator of FIG. 5 taken along line6—6.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of an alternative actuator for thethrust reverser of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the locking mechanism of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the locking mechanism of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a thrustreverser in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the thrust reverser of FIG. 10shown in a stowed position.

FIG. 12 is a side elevational view of the thrust reverser of FIG. 10shown in a partially deployed position.

FIG. 13 is a side elevational view of the thrust reverser of FIG. 10shown in a fully deployed position.

FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of the thrust reverser of FIG. 10with an added fairing shown in a stowed position.

FIG. 15 is a side elevational view of the thrust reverser of FIG. 10with an added fairing shown in a fully deployed position.

FIG. 16 is a side elevational view of the locking mechanism of FIG. 10.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of the locking mechanism of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1–4, a thrust reverser 10 in accordance with thepresent invention preferably comprises a pair of doors 12 and 14 mountedto the exit nozzle 11 of a jet engine with an actuator assembly 15 oneach side of nozzle 11. Each actuator assembly 15 preferably comprises acombined actuator and guide body 16, which is fixedly attached to nozzle11. Each actuator/guide body 16 preferably comprises a conventionalhydraulic or pneumatic actuator, although the actuator may be powered byother means such as electricity. On each side of door 12, a link rod 36is pinned to the forward portion of door 12 at pin connection 40, andlink rod 36 is pinned to actuator/guide body 16 at pin connection 32.Likewise, on each side of door 14, a link rod 38 is pinned to theforward portion of door 14 at pin connection 42, and link rod 38 ispinned to actuator/guide body 16 at pin connection 34. Although pinconnections 32 and 34 are indicated as being fixed to actuator/guidebody 16, pin connections 32 and 34 may be fixed to other stationarystructure on the engine, such as nozzle 11. The rear portion of door 12is pinned on each side to an aft fitting 18 at a pivot joint 28.Similarly, the rear portion of door 14 is pinned on each side to an aftfitting 18 at a pivot joint 30. Alternatively, doors 12 and 14 could bepinned on each side to a common pivot joint on each aft fitting. Eachaft fitting 18 is mounted to a pair of slider rods 22, 24 that areslidably mounted in actuator/guide body 16. The forward ends of sliderrods 22, 24 are attached to a forward fitting 20. Actuator/guide body 16has a piston rod 26, which is also attached to forward fitting 20. Asthe actuator is activated from the stowed position shown in FIG. 2,piston rod 26 pulls fitting 20 rearward, which forces fitting 18rearward because of the connection through slider rods 22, 24. Asfitting 18 translates rearward as shown in FIG. 3, door 12 rotatesupward about pivot joint 28 due to the compressive load that develops inlink rod 36 since pin connection 32 cannot translate, and door 14rotates downward about pivot joint 30 due to the compressive load thatdevelops in link rod 38 since pin connection 34 cannot translate. Suchtranslation and rotation of doors 12, 14 continues until the actuatorreaches the end of its stroke and thrust reverser 10 is placed in itsfully deployed position as shown in FIG. 4.

In the fully deployed position shown in FIG. 4, thrust reverser 10redirects substantially all of both the core and the fan exhaust gasesfrom nozzle 11 in a forward direction, which provides improved reversethrust for the aircraft to which thrust reverser 10 is mounted. Becausethrust reverser 10 has only two pairs of link bars (36 and 38) ratherthan four pairs, thrust reverser 10 provides significant weight savingsas compared to a conventional four-bar link system, which is always aparamount concern in aircraft design. Also, the elimination of the rearpair of links makes thrust reverser 10 more stable and simpler tooperate than a conventional four-bar link system, which increasesreliability and reduces maintenance costs. Additionally, because pivotjoints 28 and 30 constrain doors 12 and 14, respectively, to rotateabout axes that are near the centerline of nozzle 11, the distancebetween doors 12 and 14 and nozzle 11 during deployment is minimized,which minimizes the loads in actuator/guide body 16, which in turnallows for further weight savings. Because doors 12 and 14, pivot joints28 and 30, and link rods 36 and 38 do not attach directly to theactuator piston rod 26, the piston rod 26 reacts only to linear loadsand not side or asymmetric loads, which reduces wear on the actuatorseals and bearings, increases the service life of the actuator, andreduces the likelihood of leakage and the need for maintenance.

The reduction in operating loads for thrust reverser 10 also allows amore advantageous configuration for actuator assembly 15. As shown inFIG. 5, actuator assembly 15 preferably comprises a combinedactuator/guide body 16 having an actuator cylinder 49 in which a piston48 is slidably disposed. Piston 48 is connected to a piston rod 26,which actuates forward fitting 20 due to changes in pressure of apressurized fluid (not shown) acting on piston 48 within cylinder 49according to principles well known in the art. As shown in FIG. 6,actuator/guide body 16 also has a pair of guide cylinders 23, 25 inwhich slider rods 22, 24, respectively, are slidably disposed.Actuator/guide body 16 is preferably attached to nozzle 11 at mountingtabs 44, 46. As noted above, slider rods 22, 24 are connected to aftfitting 18 and forward fitting 20, which together translate between astowed position indicated at 18, 20 and a deployed position indicated at18′, 20′ as piston 48 moves from its forward (stowed) position indicatedat 48 to its aft (deployed) position indicated at 48′. Pivot joints 28,30 thus translate from a forward (stowed) position indicated at 28, 30to an aft (deployed) position indicated at 28′, 30′. This preferredarrangement of actuator assembly 15 provides increased safety andefficiency because the full area of the aft face of piston 48 is actedon by the pressurized fluid in cylinder 49 to return thrust reverser 10to the stowed position rather than to deploy the thrust reverser as isthe case in actuators for conventional thrust reversers. Thus, if thrustreverser 10 is inadvertently deployed, the maximum force is available toovercome the aerodynamic loads on doors 12, 14 and return thrustreverser 10 to the stowed position. In the other direction, the forwardface of piston 48, which has a reduced surface area on which thepressurized fluid may act due to the presence of piston rod 26, providessufficient force to deploy thrust reverser 10 because the deployingprocess requires less force from the actuator than the stowing processsince the aerodynamic loads on doors 12, 14 assist in deployment.Therefore, the size of the actuator may be smaller than otherwise wouldbe required if piston 48 were flipped 180 degrees from the configurationshown in FIG. 5, which also saves weight.

An alternative actuator assembly 150 is shown in FIG. 7. In actuatorassembly 150, the piston 148 and piston rod 126 are housed in anactuator cylinder 149 that is separate from the guide body 160 throughwhich the guide rods 22, 24 pass. Forward fitting 20 and aft fitting 18are connected to the ends of rods 22, 24 in like manner as the actuatorassembly 15 of FIG. 5. In FIG. 7, however, piston 148 is flipped 180degrees from the configuration of piston 48 in FIG. 5. Therefore, unlikeactuator assembly 15 of FIG. 5, actuator assembly 150 does not achievethe advantages associated with the reduced loads of thrust reverser 10.It will be recognized that actuator assembly 15 and actuator assembly150 may be hydraulic or pneumatic. As used in the appended claims, theterm “actuator” is intended to mean any device that is capable of movingthe pivot joints fore and aft.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate a locking mechanism 110 that serves to lockboth doors 12, 14 and actuator assembly 15. Locking mechanism 110comprises a rocker 112 having one arm 114 extending aft and two arms116, 117 extending forward. Arms 114, 116, 117 terminate in catches 114a, 116 a, 117 a, respectively. Catch 114 a protrudes laterally from arm114 toward nozzle 11, and catches 116 a, 117 a protrude laterally fromarms 116, 117, respectively, away from nozzle 11. Rocker 112 is mountedto nozzle 11 with mounts 176, 178 such that rocker 112 is capable oflimited rotation about an axis 130. Rocker 112 has a boss 120 to whichan actuator rod 122 is pinned at axis 124 in order to link rocker 112 toa lock actuator 118, which is pinned at axis 174 to a mount 172 that isfastened to nozzle 11. To lock doors 12 and 14 in the stowed position,actuator 118 pulls boss 120 of rocker 112 forward such that catches 116a and 117 a engage corresponding recesses on tabs 119 and 121 of doors12 and 14, respectively. Preferably, the same rotation of rocker 112that locks doors 12 and 14 also locks the main actuator 15 by causingcatch 114 a to engage a corresponding recess 21 on forward fitting 20.To unlock doors 12 and 14 and allow deployment of thrust reverser 10,actuator 118 pushes boss 120 rearward such that catch 114 a isdisengaged from forward fitting 20 and catches 116 a and 117 a aredisengaged from tabs 119 and 121, respectively. In FIG. 9, the lockedposition of rocker 112 is indicated by reference numerals 114 and 116,and the unlocked position is indicated by reference numerals 114′ and116′. Preferably, actuator 118 is biased toward the locked position, anda locking mechanism 110 is preferably provided on each side of nozzle 11in order to provide redundancy for safety purposes. Persons skilled inthe art will recognize that, if desired, locking mechanism 110 could bearranged so as to engage only doors 12 and 14 and not forward fitting 20of actuator 15. Alternatively, locking mechanism 110 could be arrangedso as to engage only forward fitting 20 of actuator 15 and not doors 12and 14.

FIGS. 10–13 illustrate an alternative thrust reverser 50 in which linkrods 36, 38 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1–4 are replaced by aseries of folding link rods. Thrust reverser 50 comprises a pair ofdoors 52 and 54 mounted to the exit nozzle 111 of a jet engine with anactuator assembly 55 on each side of nozzle 111. Each actuator assembly55 preferably comprises a combined actuator and guide body 56, which isfixedly attached to nozzle 111. Each actuator/guide body 56 preferablycomprises a conventional hydraulic or pneumatic actuator, although theactuator may be powered by other means such as electricity. On each sideof door 52, a rod 94 is pinned to door 52 at pin connection 98.Likewise, on each side of door 54, a rod 96 is pinned to door 54 at pinconnection 100. One end of each of rods 86 and 88 is pinned toactuator/guide body 56 at pin connection 80. The other end of rod 86 ispinned to rod 94 at pin connection 90, and the other end of rod 88 ispinned to rod 96 at pin connection 92. Rods 76 and 78 are pinned to aforward fitting 60 at pin connections 72 and 74, respectively. Rods 76and 78 are also respectively pinned to rods 86 and 88 at pin connections82 and 84, respectively. Although pin connection 80 is indicated asbeing fixed to actuator/guide body 56, pin connection 80 may be fixed toother stationary structure on the engine, such as nozzle 111. The rearportion of door 52 is pinned on each side to an aft fitting 58 at apivot joint 68. Similarly, the rear portion of door 54 is pinned on eachside to aft fitting 58 at a pivot joint 70. Each aft fitting 58 ismounted to a pair of slider rods 62, 64 that are slidably mounted inactuator/guide body 56. The forward ends of slider rods 62, 64 areattached to forward fitting 60. Actuator/guide body 56 houses a pistonrod 66 and piston (not shown) in a cylinder (not shown) as is well knownin the art. Piston rod 66 is attached to forward fitting 60. As actuator55 is activated from the stowed position shown in FIG. 11, piston rod 66pulls fitting 60 rearward, which forces fitting 58 rearward because ofthe connection through slider rods 62, 64. As fitting 58 translatesrearward as shown in FIG. 12, door 52 rotates upward about pivot joint68 due to the interaction of rods 76, 86, and 94, and door 54 rotatesdownward about pivot joint 70 due to the interaction of rods 78, 88, and96. Such translation and rotation of doors 52, 54 continues until theactuator reaches the end of its stroke and thrust reverser 50 is placedin its fully deployed position as shown in FIG. 13. Persons skilled inthe art will also recognize that many other configurations of foldingrods could be provided in order to pivot doors 52 and 54 about slidingpivot joints 68 and 70, respectively. Additionally, one or more of thelink rods could be extensible rods, such as telescoping rods.

Comparing FIGS. 4 and 13, it will be observed that doors 52, 54 ofthrust reverser 50 are ultimately positioned further aft of the exitplane of the engine nozzle than doors 12, 14 of thrust reverser 10. Toachieve the particular performance requirements of a given aircraft andengine combination, thrust reverser 10 or thrust reverser 50 may be morepreferable, depending on the distance at which the thrust reverser doorsneed to be deployed aft of the engine exit nozzle. Alternatively, thrustreverser 10 could be modified such that, upon actuation from the stowedposition, pin connections 32 and 34 would initially translate aft andthen hit a stop, at which point doors 12 and 14 would begin to rotateabout pivot joints 28 and 30, respectively. Such a modifiedconfiguration of thrust reverser 10 would also place the thrust reverserdoors further aft of the exit plane of the engine nozzle.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, a fairing 170 is preferably attached toaft fitting 58 on each side of nozzle 111. Because fairing 170 isattached to aft fitting 58, fairing 170 travels aft as thrust reverser50 is deployed. Fairing 170 is preferably located inboard of actuatorassembly 55 and outboard of nozzle 111. Fairing 170 reduces side spillbetween nozzle 111 and doors 52, 54 when thrust reverser 50 is deployed,which improves the reverse thrust capability. The size and shape offairing 170 may be aerodynamically tailored to achieve the desiredamount of side spill. Likewise, it will be apparent that fairing 170 maybe employed with thrust reverser 10 as well as thrust reverser 50.

FIGS. 16 and 17 provide a more detailed illustration of an alternativelocking mechanism 210 used to lock both doors 52, 54 and actuatorassembly 55. Locking mechanism 210 comprises a rocker 212 having threearms 214, 216, 217 extending aft. Arms 214, 216, 217 terminate incatches 214 a, 216 a, 217 a, respectively, which protrude inboard towardnozzle 111. Rocker 212 is mounted to nozzle 111 with mounts 276, 278such that rocker 212 is capable of limited rotation about an axis 230.Rocker 212 has a boss 220 to which an actuator rod 222 is pinned at axis224 in order to link rocker 212 to a lock actuator 218, which is pinnedat axis 274 to a mount 272 that is fastened to nozzle 111. To lock doors52 and 54 in the stowed position as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, actuator218 pulls boss 220 of rocker 212 forward such that catches 216 a and 217a engage corresponding recesses on tabs 219 and 221 of doors 52 and 54,respectively. Preferably, the same rotation of rocker 212 that locksdoors 52 and 54 also locks the main actuator 55 by causing catch 214 ato engage a corresponding recess on forward fitting 60. To unlock doors52 and 54 and allow deployment of thrust reverser 50, actuator 218pushes boss 220 rearward such that catch 214 a is disengaged fromforward fitting 60 and catches 216 a and 217 a are disengaged from tabs219 and 221, respectively. Preferably, actuator 218 is biased toward thelocked position, and a locking mechanism 210 is preferably provided oneach side of nozzle 111 in order to provide redundancy for safetypurposes. Persons skilled in the art will recognize that, if desired,locking mechanism 210 could be arranged so as to engage only doors 52and 54 and not forward fitting 60 of actuator 55. Alternatively, lockingmechanism 210 could be arranged so as to engage only forward fitting 60of actuator 55 and not doors 52 and 54.

Although the preferred embodiments described herein are oriented suchthat each of the doors pivots about an axis that is substantiallyhorizontal, persons skilled in the art will recognize that the presentinvention may be oriented such that the doors pivot about an axis thatis oriented at any desired angle with respect to the engine nozzle.Furthermore, although the preferred embodiment described hereincomprises a pair of symmetric doors, the present invention may beprovided with non-symmetric doors. Additionally, more than two doors maybe provided, and the invention is not limited to engines having exitnozzles with generally circular cross-sectional shapes. For example, thepresent invention could be employed on engines that have nozzles withgenerally rectangular cross-sectional shapes.

Although the foregoing specific details describe a preferred embodimentof this invention, persons reasonably skilled in the art will recognizethat various changes may be made in the details of this inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedin the appended claims. Therefore, it should be understood that thisinvention is not to be limited to the specific details shown anddescribed herein.

1. A lock for a thrust reverser on a jet engine, the thrust reverserhaving a plurality of doors and at least one door actuator for movingthe plurality of doors from a stowed position in which the plurality ofdoors are out of the exhaust stream of the jet engine to a deployedposition in which the plurality of doors are within the exhaust streamof the jet engine, said lock comprising: a rocker pivotally mountable tothe jet engine, said rocker having a plurality of arms, each of saidplurality of arms having a catch for engaging one of the plurality ofdoors of the thrust reverser, said rocker further having a boss forattachment to a lock actuator; and a lock actuator connected to saidboss of said rocker for moving said rocker between an unlocked positionwherein each catch of said plurality of arms is disengageable from saidplurality of doors and a locked position wherein each catch of saidplurality of arms is engageable with one of the plurality of doors suchthat said plurality of doors is locked in the stowed position; whereinsaid rocker further comprises an additional arm adaptable for lockingthe at least one door actuator when said rocker is in said lockedposition.
 2. The lock of claim 1 wherein said lock actuator is biasedtoward said locked position.
 3. A lock for a thrust reverser on a jetengine, the thrust reverser having a plurality of doors and at least onedoor actuator for actuating the plurality of doors, said lockcomprising: a rocker mountable to the jet engine, said rocker having aplurality of arms, each of said plurality of arms having a catch thatprotrudes from said rocker in a first direction; and a lock actuatorconnected to said rocker, said lock actuator being adaptable forrotating said rocker between an unlocked position wherein each saidcatch may be disengaged from the plurality of doors and a lockedposition wherein each said catch may be engaged with at least one of theplurality of doors.
 4. The lock of claim 3 wherein said rocker furthercomprises an additional arm adaptable for locking the at least one dooractuator when said rocker is in said locked position.
 5. The lock ofclaim 4 wherein said additional arm comprises an additional catch thatprotrudes from said rocker in a second direction.
 6. The lock of claim 5wherein said second direction is substantially the same as said firstdirection.
 7. The lock of claim 5 wherein said second direction issubstantially the opposite of said first direction.
 8. The lock of claim3 wherein said lock actuator is biased toward said locked position.
 9. Alock for a thrust reverser on a jet engine, the thrust reverser having aplurality of doors and at least one door actuator for actuating theplurality of doors, said lock comprising: a locking member mountable tothe jet engine, said locking member comprising a central body and aplurality of spaced apart arms extending from said central body; and alock actuator connected to said locking member, said lock actuator beingadaptable for rotating said locking member between an unlocked positionwherein each of said plurality of arms may be disengaged from theplurality of doors and a locked position wherein each of said pluralityof arms may be engaged with at least one of the plurality of doors;wherein said locking member further comprises an additional armadaptable for locking the at least one door actuator when said lockingmember is in said locked position.
 10. The lock of claim 9 wherein saidadditional arm extends from said central body in a directionsubstantially the same as at least one of said plurality of arms. 11.The lock of claim 9 wherein said additional arm extends from saidcentral body in a direction substantially opposite at least one of saidplurality of arms.
 12. A lock for a thrust reverser on a jet engine, thethrust reverser having a plurality of doors and at least one dooractuator for actuating the plurality of doors, said lock comprising: alocking member mountable to the jet engine, said locking membercomprising a central body and a plurality of spaced apart arms extendingfrom said central body; and a lock actuator connected to said lockingmember, said lock actuator being adaptable for rotating said lockingmember between an unlocked position wherein each of said plurality ofarms may be disengaged from the plurality of doors and a locked positionwherein each of said plurality of arms may be engaged with at least oneof the plurality of doors; wherein said plurality of arms aresubstantially parallel to each other.